Strange Friendship
by RogueOnFire
Summary: When Trinity was a teenager, she was feisty, eager to grow up and ready for action. When she meets Persephone in unusual circumstances, questions are raised. Why are all these men chasing them?
1. Chapter 1

Trinity walked into the main area of the ship _Nebuchadnezzar_, one of Zion's newest ships, and greeted the small crew consisting of Tank, Dozer, Mouse, and Morpheus with a nod of her head.

"Good morning, Trin!" Tank greeted her with a big smile. "Don't try to read what I'm going to say today."

"Only if you start sentences I know you can't finish." Trinity tossed back at him with a smile. Even though the ship was new, the crew had known each other from shortly after an unplugging. Trinity was one of the newest ones to Zion, and she rolled her eyes every time it was brought up. For code's sake, she'd been unplugged for a good four years now. Her favorite things to do were to practice fighting Matrix-style in the simulations, and to watch Tank and Morpheus work whenever possible. She would threaten anyone who suggested she had a crush on either man with a punch to the face because she knew it was not true. But she did know both men had a penchant for being obvious no matter what they said. After four years, Trinity often knew what they were going to say before they had a chance to say it.

"Morning, Trin." Morpheus sipped a Zion form of coffee, as different from regular coffee as tasty wheat was from flavored oatmeal. And by the way, tasty it was not. The coffee was a shade darker than Morpheus' head, and he was all business, as usual, standing and watching everyone perform pre-takeoff procedure on the new ship. They had just boarded the _Neb_ for the first time, and were taking it out for a maiden voyage. Tank had finished his drink, and was seating himself in the chair before the computers that recorded the Matrix code. His brother Dozer was double-checking the five seats that would hold up to the maximum amount of people who jacked into the Matrix. Mouse just disappeared in the dormitory area, to check that each room was outfitted with the necessary beds.

"Today, we were informed of a problem, and I think you would be the one to handle it, Trinity."

"Really?" She felt her heart speed up. "It would just be me alone?"

"Yes, but I think it'd be better if I tell you the details after we get to the proper level to jack in."

Trinity thought she could hardly wait.

* * *

"It's not fair!" Seventeen-year-old pro computer hacker Trinity threw a tin cup to the metallic floor and turned to face her leader. Morpheus kept his arms folded and his voice calm.

"There is a glitch in the Matrix, Trinity. We need you in there to keep an eye out"

"For the One, I know. And I can only get unplugged if I end up facing any Agents." She smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear. Her black hair was only long enough to frame her cheekbones–short enough to slip out from behind her ear often and long enough to annoy her peripheral vision.

"That is correct. Tank will be watching you from the screen at all times. Hack into the code as often as you can. You need,"

"To get more experience in reading the Matrix code until I can see the people moving individually. I got it." She sighed in frustration. He knew specifically that watching the code was her weakness, and her least favorite activity. Morpheus' glance told her there was less time to complain and she needed to be in the Matrix soon, so she walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. "And you have no idea when the glitch will end?"

"No, and as soon as we do, you'll come back. Trust me, you won't miss the food."

"Just the training sessions." She looked at the floor disappointed. Everyone on the ship knew she was kicking butt on all that sparred with her, except Morpheus. He was too well trained to let her get the upper hand.

"You'll be back before you know it."

'_Fat chance,'_ were her last words before she lost consciousness of the real world and entered the Matrix.

Trinity's green eyes adjusted to the outdoor light quickly, and she glanced around quickly to get oriented. A black pay phone rang on the corner of the sidewalk, and somehow she knew it was for her. Her forehead creased lightly as she answered, "Agents already? Guys, I just got here."

"No agents." Tank's voice reassured her. "Just a cell phone Morpheus wanted you to have." It appeared in her right hand, opposite the pay phone in her other hand. "You'll want to be careful now. The Matrix has dangerous territory and we can't trust our screens as fully as we'd like. The library is just two blocks to your left, and through the mess the glitch is causing, you are temporarily unable to move from the Matrix."

"Oh goody. I was afraid you were going to say I'm stuck to the sidewalk."

"Nah, but you won't be able to jack out for a while. So we're…"

"Keeping your eyes on me at all times. I've got it. Trin out." She hung the phone up, pocketed the smaller phone and headed left. The three-level concrete and brick building bore the name _LIBRARY_ and none of its patrons looked up as she slid past the entrance. Trinity wished for a moment she had a backpack so no one would question her. After taking a seat in a sofa with a huge book in her lap, she covertly glanced at the clock. Only seven hours till closing. While she waited, she had to switch location from time to time. Through this process, she discovered the hide-aways where computers were kept, near the back of the building on the first floor.

That night, she stayed in the library's periodicals section until closing time. She hid behind the large columns that held the books whenever a guard passed by. Warily glancing from side to side, Trinity made a silent run for a booth with a computer. From three sides, she was invisible once inside the booth. The computer was on the desk and she could sit as she worked. Businesslike, she tucked strands of hair behind both ears, and got to work. Her hacking know-how got her through the beginning of the Matrix code silent as a ghost. She glanced at her surrounding to ensure no one was near enough to sneak up on her. She needed to know she was being as quiet as possible. Unfortunately, the ring of the phone could not be silenced.

Trinity grabbed the phone and answered it swiftly. She spoke in a hard whisper. "Don't do that again! For the sake of my heartbeat, don't! I almost died when you phoned just now! I was sure a guard would swoop down on me."

"Relax, Trinity. You're too uptight right now." Tank said. "That won't be good later when you really do meet an Agent. Anyway, the nearest guard is just locking the library from the outside. Can you manage the night without being caught?"

"I'm sure."

"Trinity, remember what we told you about seeing the One through the code. He'll"

"Change the code someway that he will be impossible to ignore once he makes himself known."

"Do you enjoy cutting me off?" Tank's voice smiled at her.

"Sometimes I do when you're being predictable."

He started a warning tone. "I'm at least…"

"Thirteen years older than me and you don't feel the need to pull rank on me, but I'm being too much of a kid for you to pass up the opportunity." Trin smirked at her cleverness.

"That's enough cutting me off for now." His tone had grown serious enough for her to wise up. "I was going to say I am at least glad you got the code without a problem."

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say."

Tank paused for a second, and Morpheus' voice took over. "Trinity, the next hack into the code will require you to follow it down to the middle row, count to 20 seconds, and click. Then you'll…" He continued to outline the easiest way to hack into a deeper code that would form the individual people in the Matrix. "You might even detect yourself in the library. We won't have too much of a chance to communicate later on, so stick to your guns and focus on the goal."

"You know I will. And…"

"You wish you had guns right now. Be patient, Trinity."

"Morpheus, I've been getting tired of you telling me to be patient. And you read my mind about the guns."

We can't have a minor in the Matrix armed. That would get you into the hands of the police and perhaps the Agents."

"But," she protested.

"Later. When you are older." Morpheus hung up.

"Oooh! Sometimes, I just wish…" She mumbled to herself as she followed directions in the code. She simply had trouble focusing on the code well enough to see moving figures; the scenery she could see fine. The tips Morpheus had given her were like enhancing a map so the view got clearer as you got closer to a specific place on that map.

After she had enlarged the view on the screen to see the library clearly, she blinked three times to ensure her brain would be alert enough to take in what she saw. The key was to look past the numbers and through them, and use them at the same time. No wonder she couldn't focus on the code for too long. It made Trinity feel bug-eyed after five minutes of looking and desperately needing a break after 15, if she could hang on that long. This time, she was determined to buckle down, so she widened her eyes for improved alertness once more and got to work, mumbling little encouragements to herself as she went along.

She saw cars moving in steady streams outside the library, the guards patrolling the city on their circuit, police cruisers mingled with the traffic. No pedestrians walked the streets, but a group of drunks would circle the same three blocks of streets, so that gave Trinity something to focus on. But she was only focusing on the outside of the library. She pulled up the inside of the library. The screen blinked as it showed the three floors in rotating succession. When it landed the first floor on the second rotation, she was shocked to see movement on her screen. The figure moved horizontally across the screen; it was walking between columns of books 20 feet behind Trinity.

It was a part of the code, a simple link in the whole connection that formed the Matrix. That meant it was a program. Trinity exhaled slowly. She watched it head to her right, never taking her eyes off the computer. _'I told Morpheus I needed a gun. Even a small concealed revolver would do. At least it's not an Agent. Agents sneak up on you and hold a gun to your head unless you run for it. But you have to run like the wind.'_ She realized she'd stared at the second floor without seeing. Leaning forward, she scanned the third for sign of another intruder, but saw none. Just as the first floor rotated to greet her eyes, she saw...nothing. Trinity couldn't help her sigh of relief or how much her shoulders relaxed. The intruder didn't show itself again on the screen.

A crash of books hitting the floor from a higher level startled Trin from her focus on the screen. She began to get up, but checked to see where the intruder had relocated. Once again, the screen was showing the third level, and showed no sign of intruder. First floor, no sign. Second floor, she saw the intruder turn quickly behind the encyclopedia section. Now Trin rose from her seat and walked to the books lying on the floor the computers resided in. They were encyclopedias all right. Thankfully the hard-bound cover wasn't broken on either book and she carefully carried the two books, which together weighed 20 pounds, up the stairs. In addition to the library being large, the bookshelves were also huge and high. Trin saw a vacancy on the third level of books. With the weight of the books, no ladder, and her 5'5" height, Trinity didn't feel up to the challenge. The laws of the Matrix could be broken, but it was safer to use that power when a domino effect was less likely to happen. So she placed the books on the floor next to the shelves and walked back to the computers, cautious enough to listen for extra footsteps, breathing, and to glance over her shoulder to see who was joining her in the lonely library.

After that intense moment, she saw absolutely nothing of interest. She focused not only in the library, but widened it so she could see the exterior surroundings and the inside of the library together. The neon clock on the wall told her she'd been reading the code for 36 minutes the next opportunity she had to check time. Trinity would normally be impressed with the new record she was setting, but the clock also told her it was nearing 1:30 a.m. She turned the computer off and went to find someplace comfortable to sleep.

The next morning, she waited patiently for the first arrivals at the library to start leaving so she could leave in plain view and not be questioned. Her three-quarter sleeved black shirt and brown pant legs were slightly wrinkled, her short hair nonplussed, and the semi-dark shadows under her eyes simply made her look like a college student who had gotten up earlier than a preferred time and had now finished her research. But Trinity's stakeout at the library was far from over. Until Morpheus told her the glitch was no more, she would keep borrowing the library's free computers, and few that saw her would question. She entered a coffee shop and ordered a cinnamon raisin bagel and a latte.

She remembered Tank's warning and glanced covertly at the people passing her. Even though she felt beyond a little girl's fears, she still wished that Morpheus had allowed her to protect herself with a gun. In lieu of a weapon, she wanted to be reassured she was safe, but she remembered the phone couldn't be 100 trusted with the glitch in effect.

"What do I do next?"

She kept her face in a serious mask, and noticed a man in a suit watching her. His light blond hair was nicely combed, and unlike the simulated Agents she'd seen, he did not wear sunglasses as he sat alone at a table three or four tables away. He seemed calm yet his gaze was one of recognition. His blue eyes didn't seem threatening but sent a message to her saying _'I'm watching you.'_

**A/N: Ooohh!! I'm evil on the first chapter! The man and library visitor will remain mysteries as long as the second chapter isn't put up! Now who would want the second chapter up?? I have no idea. **


	2. Chapter 2

Trin forced herself to look away gradually from the gaze of the man. She focused on eating the bagel and drinking the warm coffee, without looking up from her tabletop. She refused to budge before he did, and slyly watched his frame for signs of leaving the booth where he sat alone for fifteen minutes. Thankfully the man rose first to go, and though she watched him from the corner of her eye, his blond head didn't turn for a single glance in her direction. She sighed with relief.

She figured that going in another direction would help her as she walked out of the tiny breakfast shop. Thankfully, Trinity knew the Matrix like the back of her hand, and left with assurance. An old adage that she'd read once in school during her life in the Matrix came to mind now and she fitted it to her situation. "You can take a girl out of the Matrix, but you can't take the Matrix out of the girl." She smiled confidently and decided to just ramble and see where she would end up.

The bright sun shone above her, and she could feel the warmth so much, Trinity almost forgot that it was fabricated, part of the Matrix program. Where could she go? The library? Not yet. It was too early, and she didn't want a reputation for being in the library all the time. A thought of the Oracle popped into her head. She tossed it around in her head, but didn't feel comfortable. Morpheus always knew when it was a good time to visit her, somehow, and Trin didn't really want to go there without him close by.

_The cell phone!_ Trinity pulled it out of her pocket and flipped it open. She found the lists for dialed numbers or numbers that called the phone completely empty. Trin almost threw it on the ground, but restrained herself. She stomped her foot on the hard sidewalk. "It's just not right! Who gives someone else a phone but doesn't leave a number to call? Oooh! I don't even know where to go!"

Then she caught sight of another huge building, this time five floors high, and 260,000 feet wide and long. "The mall is perfect!"

Trin walked to an intersection near the mall and stood close to the light post in wait for a white crossing hand sign. The post was made of thick steel alloy and had a few "Lost Dog!" advertisements around its girth, but an advertisement on the cement wall bordering the sidewalk caught her eye. "Missing Child: Katrina Stewart was last seen four years ago; 13 years old at time of disappearance. Last seen alone. If you find her, call 555-2891." Trin slumped against the light post in disbelief. She felt stunned by what she'd seen. That was her picture staring at her! She guessed that man in the coffee shop was one of those plain-clothes detectives. She'd seen them before leaving the Matrix and her old life. But her life was over as far as her family was concerned. Was the glitch causing it to act as though nothing had changed? The white crossing hand beckoned to her back as she faced away from the intersection.

The picture, the man in the coffee shop; were they related? Was he looking for her? He was no Agent as far as black-suited, sunglasses-wearing Agents went, but he was technically an agent for her parents.

Trin swore, and flinched as if expecting Morpheus to frown on her for it. Now she knew she had to keep the blond-haired guy away from her. Wasn't independence getting away from her parents? She needed to get the detective/agent, whoever he was, off her back first. Scrap the mall idea. Her shoulders felt tight and she wanted to take a long run, scream or punch something. That reminded her of kick-boxing, her favorite form of exercise. The tension was pushing her very close to doing something drastic.

Thank God, the phone rang. "What?"

"Trinity, where are you going?" Morpheus' tone was casual, but in her current mood, she'd gladly scream at him. No, it wouldn't be fair to take her frustration out on her leader. She took a deep breath.

"I need some exercise, Morpheus. I just found out I may have a run-in with my parents to blame on this glitch too and I want to get it out of my system to think clearly about what to do next."

"Do you want us to try to pull up a simulation so you can do it in peace?"

"No. I need to run. How about dark alleys?" She knew that the skyscrapers here were so tall, their shadows cast near darkness in alleyways and narrow streets. The thought made her desire to move more urgent. "Please?"

"Alright. We'll try to keep touch with you." His voice was warm, though not much had been accomplished. Morpheus knew Trinity had 'find the library intruder' on an inner to-do list. "Keep up the hard work, and Trinity, I have a surprise for you."

"Sur—" The Matrix faded away and white walls, ceiling, and floor took its place. Morpheus now stood next to her. "You came!" She hugged him in excitement. "Now I won't have to go alone, and you can answer my questions…"

He shook his head lightly. "No, Trin. This is your mission. But I thought a gift might cheer you up." Morpheus keyed in Tank. "We need clothing." Instantly, racks shot up and surrounded them, blurring until all that could be offered was there. Morpheus strolled to a rack that only contained black garments.

Trinity inhaled and knew what Morpheus' gift was. Leather. It was all here. "Really? This is for me to choose from?" She scanned the pants, shirts, jackets, even shoes. She didn't expect him to answer her question and knew she had stated the obvious. A grin that she couldn't contain spread over her face. She selected pants, a tank top and a jacket, all made of leather. She modeled them and loved the outfit.

Morpheus nodded his approval. "It'll help when you need to disappear in the night. It'll come into good use, I'm sure." He looked at her with a warning glance, but filled with love. "You might get into dangerous situations, Trinity, but I know you can handle it. Good-bye." He disappeared and the white walls melted away until she was back on the sidewalk.

Trin filled her lungs. "Alright." She took off in a controlled running pace. Five long blocks later, she found the perfect alley. It was dark, almost night black, and very few homeless congregated around it. She inhaled deeply and thought back to the kickboxing lessons. This was good for her. The exercise kept her mind off the pressing problems and the specific actions required her to plan her next steps as she went through the routine. Fighting was a way to express her feelings when she was too pent up to talk.

Her mind wandered to what should happen next with the child services agent. Well, she was guessing at the job title, but that sounded reasonable. And if she should hide from him, the location would be…the library. No, but that was where the interloper hid. Now she had two problems to solve at once.

Trinity forced breath in and out as she changed fists for the various punches required. She faced a back wall and threw vicious punches at the air. She bounced from one foot to the other and added random kicks to her routine. Suddenly, her foot hit something solid. Heavy gasps not her own sounded straight ahead, and off to the right. Trinity spun to regain balance, all senses alert. She could see nothing in the darkness. She thought about speaking but her breath was labored and she didn't feel like wasting any. Her fist shot out with control, seeking the other's location. Another hand flashed, pushing Trin's fist back. It was an offensive move, not intended to hurt anyone.

"Well? I know you're there." Trinity hoped to get a clue to her companion's identity.

Jumbled words, laced with fear, came from the shadows. She tried to place the language. It sounded beautiful, a few words recognizable from her high school Spanish, but it wasn't Spanish. It was probably Italian. Trin offered a few Spanish words, hoping they were close enough to be understood. She meant to say "I am not dangerous," but didn't know how her rusty Spanish could convey peace to a fluent Italian. _'This can't be good,'_ she thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Trin prepared herself mentally to attack or be attacked in the dark alley, where she depended on sound alone. Beyond the alley, the sun still shone bright and the day coursed to afternoon, but here it was dark enough to have been midnight. Sounds of the opponent she had not yet seen shuffling her feet, moving to a new position and…maybe the homeless man at the entrance snoring and birds ruffling their wings reached Trinity's ears. She mouthed one of Morpheus' mantras: Be ready to move only after you know what the opponent's next move will be by listening to them. She used short, quick breaths, hoping to not give away her position.

"Don't hurt me! I can hear you breathing," the female Italian voice said. "I don't want to fight you."

"What?" She was confused for a moment. "Who are you? Well, you're a program, I know that much." _Stop rambling and don't fight. Hey, while your thoughts lecture you, apologize while you're at it._ "I didn't mean…"

"I am the one you attacked with feet and fists!"

Trinity calmed her breathing, but still fueled up for a fight, if it was inevitable. She repeated the phrase that had been interrupted. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to fight you at all. I honestly had no idea you were here. I thought I could practice fighting here alone, when you suddenly appeared."

"Appeared? No." A swish of air followed the comment. Trinity thought the other girl had shaken her head and that her hair was long and thick, creating the swish. But there seemed more that the other person wished to say but did not.

A few seconds held the pause for what seemed to be longer than necessary. _'Is she ever going to explain her statement? Scratch that. Just TALK already!'_ Trinity paced impatiently.

At last she did. "I did not appear. I was already here when you arrived. Just as I was already at the library when you got there! Perhaps you look for me? Did someone ask you to look for defenseless programs and bring them in? Perhaps for money?"

Trin heard the accusation but was too busy processing what she heard earlier. "The library? You mean, you were the one dropping the books? The program I saw on the computer?"

"Yes." Suddenly the Italian's voice changed from sweet and soft to hard and determined, almost angry. "I was at library last night, and now you have found me again. I ask again. Do you hunt me?" Her accent thickened, making her words heavier.

"No!"

"I do not know why but eef you do not tell mi why you are following mi right now, I, I wheel do somet'ing to keep you from continuing tis behavior."

"Is that a threat?" Trinity wanted to know. _'Know your enemy's plan in order to create your own.'_

A swish of fabric crossing something soft sounded from the Italian's position. _'Crossing her arms, maybe?'_ Trinity guessed.

"It might be, if you are a danger to me. I only leeve now through escaping capture."

'_What?'_ Trin thought over the words. _'Oh, she said _live_, but it sounded like leave. She's scared.' _Out loud, she attempted to calm the girl. "I'm not a threat to your survival. It might sound crazy to you after what you just said, but I've only happened upon you by blind luck, nothing else. I was not looking for you back there. I don't know who you are, nothing about your situation. I am doing a job and you are taking care of yourself and we just happened to collide. Twice. That's it. In fact, we might even have running away in common. You need to stay unseen by Agents and I need to keep away from my parents finding me."

"Your parents. You hide from your parents? Why?"

Trinity sighed. "I don't have time for this now. Let's leave it at the fact it is a long story. Who are you?"

The girl huffed, which sounded as though she would have said something else, but switched replies. "My name is Persephone. Why…."

Flashing strobe lights lit up the end of the tunnel Trinity had entered from. Persephone spun toward Trin and for the first time her face could be seen. She did look Italian.

"Are you responsible for this? I suppose you know if they take me, I will be destroyed! That I cannot bear!"

Trin spoke through a stunned tone, "No! I did nothing like that. For all I know they're here to take me back to my old family! I don't know why they are here."

The men exited the car. The girls cast untrusting glances at it and ran, legs pumping with adrenaline and energy.

"We're running from guns!?" Persephone's voice was high, filled with disbelief

"Pray you don't get shot," Trin threw back.

They ran full force, but Trinity could not help noticing by help from the police lights that they were running out of road.

"Wait, wait! Please, this is a dead end. What do we do?" Persephone nearly scrabbled at the wall that loomed in front of them.

Trin glanced at it. "I've never really made it with someone else, but take my hand. We're jumping." The police were almost on them, but there was still three feet of space between the girls and the officers.

Persephone glanced back and spoke in confusion. "What?"

Bracing herself, Trin jumped straight up in the air, willing herself to break as many gravity rules as possible. However, holding Persephone's hand made it more difficult so she switched to leaning back and running up the wall. The light above increased the higher they got.

Holding the other girl's hand was harder than Trinity thought. Persephone nearly huddled against the wall while trying to follow Trinity. However her body seemed to prefer being on solid ground, causing Trinity's arm to drag until it was almost below her leg level, while Persephone's arm came close to over-reaching the shoulder's mobility. Obviously this program rarely broke rules like this, if any did except Agents. Trin ran the wall until she thought she might fall backward, yanked her hand higher, and kept running. She repeated the procedure until they were at the top of the wall, where summer heat met them.

"What was that?" The poor girl was winded and from the looks of it, might have a bruised hand. Trin chose not to care until they survived and were out of harm's way.

"Quick! On the roof! They might not see us as well, or maybe they have night scopes but you don't want to get hurt." She jumped to a nearby rooftop.

Though she had expected to see it, Trinity was still surprised to note the bullet shooting straight up, within a foot of where they stood. She turned her eyes from where the bullet had risen to Persephone, who still held her balance on the wall. "Change your mind about coming over here?"

* * *

Morpheus scratched an overview of the day's journey into the fresh ship log. The ship functioned well, each proponent worked flawlessly and the magnetic system that would fend off the Sentinels had appeared to work well before the submersion. Testing it now with Trinity in the Matrix would be ludicrous, bordering on suicidal.

The girl was young, but strong and resourceful. Morpheus had been a happy man when he learned she was assigned to his ship. It was fitting. He rescued her, introduced 

her to the truth, slowly became her family, along with others in Zion and raised her. He was thirty-two but saw her as an unplugged child of his own. She had learned most of what she knew from him after all….

"Excuse me, sir." Mouse poked his head around the corner. "Another ship just pulled alongside us. It contains one of the _Sable_'s crew and a newly unplugged."

"Very well, then." Morpheus closed the book and stored it in a crevice. "Let them on board."

"Sorry to interrupt again, sir, but you might want to take a rest after they leave." Mouse shrugged quickly. "You look like you need it." He left.

Morpheus nodded briefly. Without saying it, he worried for Trinity, hoping she would use her knowledge well. He felt his muscles tighten with the acknowledgement of the thought. How he hoped, prayed she would succeed, despite the limited information she was working with. Plus, it was a critical test of her endurance to stay away from Agents, at least until the glitch—problem—went away.

He rose from the seat. It was time to meet the new addition to the Zion family along with the crew member from the Sa_ble_. It was one of the first ships made in current memory, old but sturdy, so it was still used. But there had been a rumor that it would soon be retired. That the _Neb_ might replace it. That thought made Morpheus smile. To have his ship chosen would be a great honor. His thoughts returned to the girl he thought of as his daughter and joy fell away. How important was impending honor from good ship production while Trinity worked against a possible threat to those still living in the Matrix? Not very. There were still so many that could be saved. They had to stop that problem before it got worse.

With a sigh, he entered the hall and faced the newcomers.

**_I wish to express my thanks to Red Queen Forever, whose review encouraged me to bring this chapter into being, however much of a filler chapter it is. I have a few thoughts for what might happen in future, but for now, I don't know what will be next. I'm open to ideas. Thanks for waiting! ROF_**


	4. Chapter 4

The Merovingian stared out a window over the high northern mountains. He'd been keeping his eye on a fairly beautiful female vampire lost in the Matrix for some time. But she had evaded his men as fiercely as she had the Agents seeking her deletion. She was feisty and he liked that. But she wouldn't listen to any of his emissaries' offers to come live in safety with him and that did not sit well with him.

A beautiful, eternally young woman living alone and defenseless in the Matrix? The thought gave him chills, and then reminded him of why he cared so much. He remembered the day he was given his charge by the one who "controlled" the Matrix: The Architect.

It had been a rainy day in the whole program that made up the ethereal world known as the Matrix when the Architect faced the Merovingian and presented him with a choice. "You and your kind are getting outdated and I have no place really for you to go in the Matrix. I chose to talk to you because you, as I have noticed, are an influential, I would say man, but under the circumstances…yes, I will go with influential _man_ among them. By them, I mean the other old, ahem, old_er_ programs that seem to look up to you."

The Mero crossed his arms and did not have to pretend to be bored. True, this speech of the Architect's was much shorter than his wont, but it still was enough to put anyone to sleep with the inane prattle.

"Zen why did you bring me here? To philosophize on our impending doom?"

"No," the Architect replied, cutting short a laugh at the program's words. "I called you here to tell you that I have created a choice for you: A new home, for which I will stipulate the pending conditions you must live by."

'_For code's sake, move on already, old man,'_ Merovingian thought. '_I may look like I could stand here forever but zis is getting ridiculous.'_

The Architect droned, "You must open your home to programs that from now on shall be called exile, or rogue, programs. They will be dangerous to the system as it progresses and becomes further advanced. There will be only this option or they must be deleted entirely. It is for the good of the system."

At the time, the Merovingian had scoffed. That did not sound like much of a choice to him. But he soon found wisdom in the advice. The programs were happy to live any way they could and relished the life he offered. He simply could not see why this one woman refused him so strongly.

Then, he had an idea. He could do what he had not done or considered until now. He would send two of his best followers to fetch her. Alone, one of them might be too firm in his "coercion" but together, they could bring him the girl. Then he could learn her name.

* * *

"Are you going to kill me?" The question nearly made Trinity laugh at the absurd notion until she noticed that the female program sitting across from her, cross-legged, was serious.

"No. Call me crazy, but after that adventure up the wall, I was sort of thinking we could be friends."

Persephone did laugh and shook her head in wonder at the young girl. "You are so young and innocent. You completely amaze me." She closed her eyes against the sun's glare as they were sitting on top of the roof Trinity had encouraged her to jump on to reach safety.

Then without warning, she felt hunger pangs strike. Her face went ashen. She was in a dangerous position. She had not had sufficient nourishment in…over a week? In a longer or shorter time span than that? Too much hiding and avoiding others was causing her to fall into malnourishment. She didn't want to stand just yet; she would be too weak, perhaps faint. "I, I need to find food," she said nearly at a volume of a whisper.

Trinity had been enjoying the view, not knowing how to take the earlier comment when she heard the whisper. She turned her head. "What did you say?"

Strength lessening with each second, Persephone whispered harshly, "Food!" Trinity jumped up.

"Well, that's okay. We will just climb down from here and find a vendor below. Come on."

The program managed to find enough energy to say, "I haven't had anything in a week."

The young girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my, that isn't good. Come on, I'll go first and can cushion you if you fall, or something like that." She found a fire escape and started to climb down. Weakly, Persephone pushed herself off the roof and walked to the ladder.

Within twenty minutes, they emerged into the sunlight after descending to an alley. Trinity spotted a hot dog vendor across the street. "I'll be right back!" She jogged away.

Persephone leaned against the building. With such extreme hunger invariably came fatigue. She closed her eyes. Then she heard heavy footfalls that made her eyes shoot open. _Don't be an Agent_, she hoped. Instead, she saw a young blond-haired man, maybe around eighteen to twenty years of age, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. _Perfect_, she thought. Standing, Persephone lured him with a finger crooking in his direction and the best smile she could form, considering the circumstances. It worked. She kissed him until she felt him respond emotionally, which didn't take long. She kept it up, drinking him in until she was sated. Then she released his lips and stared in his eyes. "Thank you," she breathed.

He rubbed his neck in discomfort over the situation and the suddenness with which it happened. "Uh, sure. Er," he cleared his throat. "You're welcome." He stepped away from her and tried to casually resume his walk down the sidewalk.

Another person coughed. She looked up to see Trinity holding two hot dogs. She had obviously witnessed the kissing scene. Her eyes looked ready to ask questions such as, "So, did you know that guy?" Instead, she said, "You, uh, want a dog?"

Persephone let herself melt with the sense of feeling replete she had received from the kiss and shook her head. "No. I'm not hungry anymore."

Trinity let her arms drop, but not the hot dogs. "You're not? Two minutes ago, you were weak with hunger! I volunteered to be a safety net in case you fell down the ladder! Don't give me that! Here!" She thrust one at the other girl, but Persephone refused again. "Fine!" Trinity ungracefully plunked herself down on the sidewalk, viciously biting into one. "I'll eat them both!" She ate as though she were in a dog eating contest, chewing only when necessary.

Persephone stayed seated, keeping her eyes closed. She remembered every detail, the thud of his feet walking away…_thud, thud, thud._ The sound came faster and harder, the sound of a grown man running. She leaned forward and turned to the noise. A slim man in a business suit ran in their direction.

She jabbed Trin and pointed at him coming their way. They both jumped up and prepared to run. The man drew closer so they ran too, hoping he was not chasing them, fearing he was. Many tires carrying a heavy weight screeched to a stop on their right. Trinity glanced at the bus, not giving it much thought until she heard the steps from behind slow. The business man had caught his ride.

"Stop!" She called to the Italian. With all the excitement they had today, she had forgotten the name already. P…something. Pe-Penelope? Maybe. But she still was not slowing down. "He was trying to catch the bus! We're safe!" Finally the other slowed.

"That was a close call. I-I was certain he chased me." She remembered she was not alone and amended, "Us."

"Me, too," Trinity admitted. She heard other brakes stopping a vehicle behind them. It was black, facing north, so she could read the back of the car. It said "Cadillac Escalade EXT." She gave it no mind and kept walking.

Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed Persephone and spun her around. She gasped and stared in the pasty white face of a man whose expression screamed "Gotcha!" even though his eyes were covered by sunglasses. He pulled a gun and aimed it at Trinity, never losing his grip on Persephone.


	5. Chapter 5

Shortly after this, another man, identical to the one holding Persephone, down to the clothing—white, no, silver trench coat and suit, jumped from the car and ran toward him. "Put it down already! Don't do something rash for ONCE." Seeing them, one without a gun and the other reluctant to lower it, Trinity realized that their faces were not pasty, but albino white. The only, well, thing she had seen before that was truly albino was a rat. Trin couldn't help it, but after thinking that, she giggled at the unlikely comparison.

The gun swung back in her face. That was influence enough to stop laughing. "Sorry," She glanced up at him, attempting to mean it but managing only sheepish. The gun man sighed and spoke to his counterpart. "It took you more than TWO minutes to get out of that car! What took you so long?"

The other man shook his head. "If you really think I'm slow, how about I challenge you to ONE basketball game? One-on-one?"

"It would take TWO of you to beat me!"

"Well, that's…." He broke off and shook his head. "Never mind. Back to business. I don't want you to kill that girl because she was found with the one we were to pick up."

At hearing this, Persephone starting squirming to get loose from the man's grip. He looked down at her. "Hey! Stop that or I'll point this in your direction." He turned his head to speak to his look-alike. "It's because we found her with this one that I think we ought to shoot her." Persephone struggled harder and Trinity jumped in the air, flipped forward and kicked his calf so it buckled as she came down. "Let her go!" Trinity yelled.

"What to you want _con_ mi?" Perse added. If she hadn't been speaking with a heavy accent, she would have been understood clearly as saying, "What do you want with me?" But as it was, she was ignored.

He glanced haplessly at the other man. "Can I get TWO helping hands here?"

He grinned. "And you only had to ask one time." He wrapped an arm around the arms and shoulders of Trinity and threw her over his shoulder. He headed to the car then turned. "We can let _him_ decide what to do with them."

"Good idea," the first grunted. They ungraciously forced the squirming girls into the backseat and slammed the doors.

Somehow they both managed to ignore the squeals of protest in the back of the car. Trinity wiggled the door handle furiously. Two glanced at her wild actions. No, he'd call her motions more like slamming the handle till she surrendered with the words: "It's locked!" One glanced at the console between the driver's and passenger's seats, then at his brother. "When did you have child lock installed?" Two grinned and shrugged innocently. Other than that, the twins spoke not a word.

Exasperated, Trinity slumped into a corner of the car and crossed her arms. She vaguely realized that she had not had access to a computer all day. Where had the day gone? It was definitely the longest day she could remember. Why could it not be easy, like cracking a code and boom! No more glitch, and there would be no more need for computer hacking to solve this problem? She wanted to go home to her ship and Morpheus and her friends. The girl sitting next to her, formerly known as the library intruder, was fast becoming the main focus of this mission. Trinity had to maintain focus and look for a way to end the glitch. Hopefully an answer would arrive soon.

Trinity finally broke the silence. "Based on how you two chatted before, I'm surprised you are this quiet in a car."

The passenger glanced back at her and only offered a brief reply. "The car is loud enough without us making it worse." They drove on for at least fifteen minutes. The clock was turned off, so Trinity could only guess that they had not been driving for an hour or even more than a half hour. The girls were removed from the car forcibly by the Twins gripping their respective right and left arms around the elbow and pulling them along to a wood door in a tall brick building. One of them, Trin couldn't tell which one at the time, pulled a steel key from his pocket, turned right once, left twice and opened the door. Instead of what they might have expected to see, both girls were shocked to see an entrance hall made mostly of marble and that was wider than the building they had entered from. The man holding Persephone pulled a cell phone out of a pocket and said something too brief for her to hear properly.

He nodded at his brother. "He's coming and I don't know how he'll treat the second girl."

The Merovingian arrived from a side door, stopping at the sight of four people. Especially the female vampire. She was beautiful, breath-taking in person, more so than just her code displayed her, then there was the programming of the albino twins, and…"Who is zis?"

* * *

Morpheus stood on the deck of the ship the_ Nebuchadnezzar_ and greeted the guests from the older ship. One young man stepped forward and introduced himself. "Hello, Morpheus. It is an honor to be aboard your new ship. My name is Cypher."

Morpheus took his hand in a firm handshake. "Cypher, it is a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can find you a good position here on the _Neb_. What experience have you had on ships you served on?"

"I have done the best job I could on the wiring and the maintenance of any ship I've laid foot on. It would be great if I could work here on your ship when the Sable returns to Zion for repairs."

"Morpheus!" The call came from where Tank was manning the computers. His heart double-flipped. Was something wrong with Trinity? He hurried over. "What is it?"

"Uh," Tank pointed at the screen. "For at least a half-hour, she's been hanging out with a strange program. It was weird, but nothing seemed to be wrong so I let it slide. Then this business man, looking nothing like an Agent ran in their direction, but he caught a bus, so it was not Trin he was after. Then she was grabbed by," he repeated the sequence quickly and found a quick reference of the two men's codes. "These guys. They put her and the program in their car then took them…here." Poor Tank constantly pointed, not really for Morpheus' sake; he could see it 

in his head clearly. One guy did something with a key and, and that's the last I've seen of her on this screen."

"Hey." Cypher sidled over. "Did you check each quadrant?"

"Not yet," Tank grunted. "That'll take a while. But I don't get it. Reason would follow she would be there but the premises are vacant." He glanced at his leader. "I'm sorry, Morpheus. I lost her."

* * *

"I am Trinity." She returned his glare with one of her own.

"A human." It was a statement of fact from the dark-haired man. The Merovingian whirled on his men. "I told you I only wanted ze program, not a human, too!"

Two defended himself. "They were together when I found them." One raised an eyebrow at that. Two noticed and clarified. "Well, One found them and would have killed the girl, but I thought if they had been found in each other's company then we should bring them both and…and let you decide what to do."

"How do you know each other?" He directed the question to his "prize."

"We ran into each other by mistake last night and again today. She has been very helpful and saved my life. Why did you capture me?"

"I have been trying to get a hold of you so you could come stay with me in peace and safety, but you are so hard to find I spent one last shot with my best men for the job. I have been looking desperately for you."

"I always thought I was hunted for one result: my deletion," Persephone admitted. She met his gaze. "I will not be hunted any longer?"

"_Non_, _Cherie_. You are safe here." He replied. Persephone's eyes almost seemed to glow as the truth sank in.

"_Tres bien_, _signor_," she replied. His eyes widened at that. "You know ze French language?"

"_Un peu_," she replied. "I know Italian much better."

"Good. Come with me. I want to talk…business with you." He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked away.

"Hey! What about me?" Trin yelled after him.

The Merovingian turned his head. "Stay there. I will decide what I want to do with you later."

She glanced out one of the windows. Night was coming on. "And I don't even have a computer to pass the time with."

**_A/N I knwo this might be a filler but it might help keep the story's road smooth. I have plans for this story. _**


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